


Now We Live

by Oblivion_Wanderer



Series: Second Chances [1]
Category: Hellboy (Movies)
Genre: Aftermath, Canon Divergence, F/M, First Kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-22
Updated: 2017-08-22
Packaged: 2018-12-18 17:26:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11879307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oblivion_Wanderer/pseuds/Oblivion_Wanderer
Summary: In the aftermath, as her hand is being stitched up, Nuala and Abe finally get the chance to share what they feel for one another.





	Now We Live

**Author's Note:**

> AU post-Golden Army, in which Nuada and Nuala are still alive.
> 
> In the first fic I wrote for this series, Reverberatory Loops, in trying to think of how they'd end up still alive, I came up with Nuala stabbing her hand with her dagger to stop Nuada. Recently, I had the thought of writing up the aftermath, so here we are.

Nuala had her eyes closed as the needle went into her palm. She didn't see it, but she felt the moment it did. She winced in response as she felt the point break the skin.

"Shh; it's okay." Abe's voice hushed her. "Try not to move. I'm threading the needle now, so you will feel a pull as I go along."

She opened her eyes and tilted her head in the direction of Abe, who was stitching up her hand. Nuala could see the wound as clear as day, an incision in the middle of her palm where she had put the dagger through. She'd done it to stop her brother, Nuada, and it had worked. It had distracted Nuada long enough so that Abe's friend Liz could melt the crown and quiet the Golden Army for good. There were still golden stains on her hand from her own blood, sluggishly flowing now that the makeshift bindings that had once been part of her dress had been removed.

Before, back in the chamber, when things had calmed down, Abe had cut away fabric from her dress with a pocket knife and bound her hand in it to stop the bleeding from her injury. When they left and returned to the plane, he insisted on tending to Nuala himself, grabbing a med kit and setting to work; first to the cut on her upper arm, and then to her hand. At present they were alone in the plane, both of them on the floor. Nuala sat up against the wall and Abe was right by her side.

She watched as Abe carefully put the needle through her skin. Her eyes followed the thread that followed through and pulled the flesh together like an old toy being patched up.

Nuala turned away, not being able to look at it for too long. Actually seeing the process unsettled her a bit. He must have noticed, because she heard him say, "It will be over soon".

When the stitching was complete, or she assumed it was since she wasn't looking, she felt something being wrapped around her hand.

"There; finished." Abe spoke a minute later. "Just be careful not to tear the stitches open." He went quiet, and she didn't look back yet, feeling tired. She then felt a hand rest gently on her forearm, and she didn't have to look to know it was Abe. "Your Highness?"

Nuala didn't say anything at first, feeling the concern that flowed from him. She focused in on his presence, happy to have him near at the very least. He hadn't left her side since they left the underground, and she didn't really mind that. When they met in the market, when she had asked for his hand, something had formed between them in the few seconds of contact. Nuala couldn't exactly explain it, but she knew it was there, like some sort of connection, as he had later remarked. She actually found it quite comforting when he was near, when their connection was the strongest.

"You're drying out." She muttered in observation, able to tell through the link. "You've been out of the water too long."

"Don't worry about me." Abe assured her. "Besides, we're close to the sea. I can jump in there for a minute and I'll be fine."

Nuala turned her head back to him, first looking at her hand that she now saw had a white fabric looped across her palm. Her gaze then drifted to his hand, and then up to meet his dark eyes.

"I didn't know you knew how to patch up an injury like that."

"Our line of work can be, well, tricky, so I sort of had to learn. I regard myself as a researcher, but when I first started working with the B.P.R.D. I knew I had to learn how to fend for myself; that includes more than just combat."

She smiled a little. Even now Abe continued to impress her.

"You are full of many talents." She mused.

"You're too kind, Your Highness. I'm nothing special; just... me."

Nuala flexed her hand, feeling the pull of the stitches. Something about him using her title didn't exactly feel right. "Back there in the chamber, you didn't use my title. You said my name when I put the dagger's blade in my hand."

"Oh. Yes, well..." He trailed off, as if he didn't know what to say. She didn't speak, allowing him to gather his thoughts. "I was startled when I saw you put the dagger through your hand. I was afraid when you held its blade to your throat, like I was when Nuada took you, and when I walked into the chamber and saw you there. I know what I did- giving the crown piece to your brother- was foolish, a risk, but I... I was afraid of loosing you."

 _'As was I.'_ She thought, aware that he could so easily pick it up, and she would let him.

"I understand, and while I agree it was foolish, you are forgiven, because I know your heart." She told him. In the chamber, he had held her near, and she'd seen the reasons; done out of love and a desire to keep her safe. She had sensed joy, relief, a silent apology for making a stupid mistake, and love from him. "And... you don't have to use that formality with me. I think we're well beyond that at this point."

"I do like the sound of your name; it's a nice name." Abe gently picked up her bandaged hand, holding it in his own. "We can get a better look at your hand once we're back at base; to make sure there's no further damage."

"Base?" She repeated, even though she knew what he meant before he said it.

"The B.P.R.D.; Home." But then he seemed to realize. "Oh. I did not mean to assume- do you not wish to come back?"

"It's not that I-" She stopped, rearranging her response. "You really want me to come back with you?"

"Of course; if you would like to."

Yet she hesitated. "Would I be able? Your friends- would they be alright with me returning with you?"

"Again, I leave that choice to you. Everything can be worked out later. As for Red and Liz- they would warmly welcome you as part of our family. You have done a great deal to help us."

Nuala considered Abe's words; in truth, after everything, the offer seemed like a fresh start. Maybe it was time to do just that, and leave the events of the past few days behind to fade. Just as well, she had Abe, someone she met by happenstance in the troll market, but also someone she came to care greatly for. He was also someone who loved her; she could feel it.

"I would like to come back with you." Nuala said, giving her answer. "There is much I need to sort through and think about, but I would at least like to be with you; where you are."

Abe blinked at her, but Nuala could sense he was happy with her response. "That's all I need."

"I cannot stay all the time you know." She added. "Lacking a leader, I will have to go back to Bethmoora from time to time; to help them. With my father gone and Nuada..." She didn't finish that. The short of it was he wasn't dead, but he wouldn't be a problem anymore "There are decisions to be made, and I feel like I should be there to help."

"Yes; I understand." He released her injured hand and brought his own hand up to rest against the side of her face. Nuala leaned into the touch. "I would take any moment with you than none at all."

She smiled up at him, touched by his kind words. He was extraordinary, kind, brilliant- and she loved it all. She loved Abe. She didn't bother to hide those thoughts, those feelings, wanting him to see. Abe moved closer to her, brushing her hair back from her face. And then he leaned in to kiss her.

It wasn't perfect; it was clumsy, and it took Nuala a moment to react. It didn't last long, but Nuala became lost in the feeling; taking in the flow of thoughts and feelings from Abe, their connection buzzing with warmth.

_'I love you. I love you. I love you.'_

She knew, and she let herself listen to the song of his heart.

He withdrew from her, this time taking both her hands in his, but being careful of her injured one.

"Before..." Abe started. "I never had the chance to tell you how I felt."

"Nor did I." Nuala replied. "But in that moment, just now, I saw; I know. It's beautiful."

"As is what I saw in you. Do you really feel that way?"

"Yes; I do."

And no words really needed to be said for him to understand what she wanted to say. What was there to say when their hearts did all the talking for them, the thoughts and feelings echoing across their connection. It had been there since the market, she supposed; born out of the astonishment and euphoria of finding another being with the same ability, laying in the link forged between them. She could tell that was true for Abe, alone in the world with no one like him. Nuala knew it was true for herself, only knowing the binding link between herself and her brother until she had met Abe, who made her feel free; alive.

After a moment of silence, he asked her. "What do we do now?"

To that, Nuala gave a simple answer.

"We live."

To her answer, Abe kissed her again, this time more sure, and Nuala returned it, her heart so full of love.

 

* * *

 

"How's your hand?" Abe asked her from the other side of the glass.

Nuala looked up from her book and to him as he hovered near. She sat next to the tank he swam around in. "It's fine. My kind heals a bit quicker than Humans, so you don't have to worry."

"That's good to hear. It does appear to be healing without complication, and at the most it will leave a scar."

"I can live with that."

She looked back to her book and turned the page, and she was drawn back out of it again when Abe spoke.

"Your voice echoes so pleasantly in here."

Nuala smiled, looked up, and placed her hand up to the glass. "That so?"

"In here I can still hear people when they speak, though there's always a weird echo; being in water and all."

"Ah."

Abe placed his hand to the glass as well, mirroring her. Even though the glass lay between them, she could still feel him, notice the space in her mind solely for him.

"Reading more Tennyson, I see." He observed.

She nodded. "I like his poetry, and you are right; In Memorium is a very beautiful poem."

"Speaking of books- I know you have to go to Bethmoora tomorrow; feel free to take the book with you."

"Oh, Abraham, I don't know if I should. Would it be alright if I did?"

"Absolutely." Abe assured her. "It's as I told you that night; this is your home. Keep it if you want."

Nuala looked back down at the book, as if it was some sort of precious gift. In a way, it was. "Thank you."

Gift aside, she did think that she might be able to regard of this place as such, about it being a home.

It had only been a week since she came back to the B.P.R.D. with Abe and his friends, but after a couple days of settling in and getting used to the place, she was starting to feel comfortable here. Maybe that was because Abe was here, but she didn't mind it. She still had to travel back to Bethmoora, but at least she knew she had a place to come back to.

She could get used to this, especially with the one she loved here.

 


End file.
